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Wednesday, August 3

Nigerian Footballer, John Obi Mikel finally clears up thirteen years of confusion with official name change

Michael
Obi's son, born John Michael Nchekwube Obinna, was accidentally
re-christened at the U17 FIFA World Cup in 2003 when his own country
submitted his name as "Mikel" instead of "Michael". Michael liked the
sound of Mikel, so Michael became Mikel.

It's unclear when the Obinna
was changed to just Obi, or how those naming conventions all work out,
but when Mikel joined Chelsea in 2006, he came to be known as John Obi
Mikel.

With that confusing situation
sorted, we can turn our attentions to the other potentially confusing
situation: Mikel's Chelsea future.

As one of the longest serving
Chelsea players of all time yet still just 29 years old, Mikel is set to
enter his eleventh year at the club. But he only has one year remaining
on his contract and so far, there's been very little indication of any
potential extension. Mikel had talked previously of waiting until this
summer to make a decision — after interim manager Guus Hiddink helped
revitalize his career — but for right now, the man, the myth, the legend
is fully concentrating on his Rio Olympics adventure, where he'll also
get to carry his country's flag in Friday's opening ceremony.

"To be my first Olympics and
getting this huge honour made the tournament 10 times as exciting for
me. I was like a kid that had just been given their first piece of candy
when they told me. It's up there with the Champions League, which was
the pinnacle of my career, for different reasons."

"To carry the flag of your
country at an Olympics is absolutely amazing. You're leading a whole
nation going into the biggest sporting event there is. To represent the
flag of Nigeria, not just the football team, is incredible.

"It is difficult to leave
Chelsea at this time. But I explained to the club why I wanted to go and
I thank them for their understanding and allowing me to be a part of
this. The coach also gave me his blessing. He told me to make sure I do
well and bring back the gold medal!"

"Obviously, it is hard to be
away because I want to impress the new coach. I had one week of
pre-season training and you need more than that if you want to prove
yourself to a new manager who wants to change everything around. It is a
risk that I have taken but I am willing to stand by that. I hope after
the Olympics I can go back and prove myself."

While the tournament has
interrupted his preseason preparations under new head coach Antonio
Conte, Mikel is determined to give it his all this upcoming season and
put himself in the best possible position for his next contract.

"I am definitely staying at
Chelsea and I will try to give my best to the club, like I have always
done. I want to help the team fight for every point, every win and to
win trophies. I also want to help the team qualify for the Champions
League again as soon as possible."

"For 10 years I have been
going to the same training ground, the same locker room. It is an
amazing club, with an amazing owner. They are like a family to me. It is
a place that has become a part of me."

"I have a year left and then
we will see what happens. If I play well this season, it will help me
earn a new contract. I will give 120 per cent every time I'm on the
pitch or come off the bench. I will always give my best."

"If Chelsea decide they want
to talk, then we will talk. If I have to move on, I'm sure there will be
plenty of clubs out there where I can continue my football career.It
will be difficult to leave but these things happen. You have to move on
one day."